Customer Reviews

Camco 41313 RV 12V-15W Fluorescent Light Bulb

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a great concept. You can use any light socket or lamp, connect to a 12 volt system, and you have an energy efficient light source. Unfortunately they do not last! They burn out very quickly and at 10 bucks a pop they are not worth it. I have not found any way to contact the manufacturer to find out if there are any special requirements for increasing the life of this product. Wal-mart sells a 12 volt bulb with a 1000 hour warranty for $1.50

Bought 4 of these for a solar system. ONLY used them in one socket, withing 4 days, 2 were already blown. They do not handle fluctuting DC voltages such as those seen in a solar system. No built in regulation. I've use many items for years off the 12v solar that are sensitive equipment; to include Cell Phones, external Hard drives, and a wireless cellular repeater. So, in a nut shell, a waste of money!

USED A BULB FOR 2 WEEKS ON EMERGENCY LIGHTING CIRCUIT....RUNNING FROM BATTERY, SO THERE WAS NO VOLTAGE FLUCTUATION..ON AND OFF MAYBE 15 TIMES AND BULB FAILED
NO WAY TO CONTACT ANYONE....SAVE YOUR MONEY, DONT BUY THESE

I love the light bulbs. I have 3 of them hooked to my solar panel in my shed. With only a 7Ah battery, I can run all 3 of them for almost 2 hours. They are dim when they turn on like any other CFL, but quickly get brighter. I would recommend them to anybody with a 12 volt system. One of them was broken upon delivery and I simply contacted Amazon.com and they sent me a new one and paid for the return postage of the broken one. It couldn't have been easier!

If you've ever camped with LED lanterns or flashlights as your only night-time light source, you'll be more than pleasantly surprised by the quality of light produced by this Camco CFL bulb! You can actually read a book without eyestrain in your tent or cabin, just as if you were reading at home. My cabin is off the grid, deep in the forest, and I couldn't believe how much light my Camco bulb put-out when I first tried it, coming to full brilliance after about 20-30 seconds of warm-up. My nearest neighbor in the woods was also astounded when I showed him. Admittedly, I've not used the Camco bulb for very long, so I can't speak directly to the issue of longevity. The negative reviews, indicating this bulb burns-out all too easily, initially made me a little hesitant to purchase. But, having first seen the product favorably presented on the website of an RV supply outfit I respect, I decided to give it a try. So far, no regrets.

It should be noted that most, if not all, 12-volt fluorescent lights are prone to early failure, if a few, basic guidelines for extending their life are not followed. As spelled-out in the Backwoods Solar on-line catalog, 12-volt fluorescents should not be used in situations where they'd be turned on-and-off frequently, or used for only brief moments of lighting (as in a closet or storeroom). These bulbs need to warm-up fully and should remain "on" for periods of at least 15-20 minutes at a time. Using them for only a minute or two, or switching them on and off repeatedly in a short period of time, burns-out their internal ballasts prematurely. They are not up to that kind of cycling. Consequently, 12-volt fluorescents are best suited to installations where they'll be lit for an extended time: for example, in living rooms, bedrooms, and kitchens. For closets -- or bathrooms, in instances of brief lighting -- it is better to use standard incandescent or LED bulbs, which don't mind frequent on/off cycling. DC fluorescents can also be readily destroyed by power surges. Never turn on more than one 12-volt fluorescent bulb at a time. Having these electrically-sensitive bulbs wired so that two or more are controlled by a single switch guarantees a power surge, which will knock them out in no time. Likewise, it's best to connect them to batteries which are not being charged (by solar panels, wind charger, etc.) at the time of bulb use. The idea is to avoid power fluctuations/surges, which lead to an early demise for these otherwise wonderful, energy-efficient light sources.

Running a single Camco 12-volt CFL uses hardly any current (just about 1.5 amps). I power mine from a standard car battery when camping. Three hours of light from this bulb uses so little "juice" that my automotive charger fully replenishes the battery after approximately 5 minutes of recharging -- no exaggeration! A single car battery and one Camco bulb thus delivers several nights of more-than-sufficient illumination for my cabin, with plenty of battery juice to spare. Camping's never been easier!

I'm sold on this particular product. Provided the special guidelines for using 12-volt fluorescents are adhered to, it appears the ideal solution for folks wanting to light their dwellings off the grid. Also, from lots of Internet searching, Amazon appears to offer the best price on this bulb -- when building an order large enough ($25 or more) to meet their free Super Saver shipping requirement. Great product. Great distributor. If you want light you can actually read by at night, off the grid, you've come to the right place!

Bought two of these...used them in a solar backup system in a room. Used one for over 6 months without any problems. The other one I bought was used for a month when it blew a drive transistor internally. After a quick inquiry on google to get the transistor type and ratings, I headed to the local Radio Shack and bought the closest available component as well as two more sets in the event of future blow-outs. Getting the case apart left the case slightly blemished but changing the blown part was easy and straight forward. The good bulb that has been in service without blow-out gets quite warm, leading me to believe that these transistors are driven too hard to not have any heat sinking. So along with the repair of the blown transistor I added small aluminum heat sinks. This fixed the problem. Overall, typical product from China but looks good and works, just don't use in really hot environments (ie. +90 deg F).

Tired of always dim 12v lighting? These bulbs will solve that. The base runs hot, and I have had a high failure rate after a few hours use...like 30-40%. This is on a battery circuit, no voltage spikes. Amazon customer service (great!) sent me replacements without charge when I e-mailed them. Just buy a couple extra to have on hand. The bright light at low power draw is worth it.

I had 2 Pilesters put in the front of my house when it was being built. The bulbs burnt out, so I went green with these CFL's. They are bright and look great. Not just for RV's!!

I don't use it with a solar system, so I can't comment on that. I had to use it in a regular outdoor light attached to my mail box. The original wiring wasn't done per code (not deep enough) for 110V, so I connected the light to a 12V Malibu transformer from Amazon. The run is about 70 feet total. Since 8/2009 I'm still on my first light (it is 1/2010 now), it works about 10 hrs per day. You can't say it is a 12V light when it is on. Will update when it dies.

They work great when connected directly to a 12v battery. I have heard they will have a short life if there is anything else connected that creates surges or noise in the circuit.